Peter Parker: The Amazing Shutterbug #1 Review

In a world where the Avengers never formed, what would life be like for Peter Parker if he never became Spider-Man? Find out in Peter Parker #1: The Amazing Shutterbug by Marvel Comics!

PETER PARKER: THE AMAZING SHUTTERBUG #1

Writer: Marc Bernardin
Artist: Rafael De Latorre, Ron Lim, and Scott Hanna
Colorist: Jim Campbell
Letterer: VC’s Ariana Maher
Editor: Devin Lewis
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 12th, 2021

Previously in Heroes Reborn: Blade woke upon a world where the Avengers never existed and somehow, he kept his memory. In this world, Peter Parker never became Spider-Man and is just a simple photographer for the Daily Bugle.

THE NERD

Peter Parker went through his whole high-school life being bullied. In fact, the day that he was supposed to be bitten by that spider, Flash pushes him down and accidently squishes the bug. Since Peter Parker never became Spider-Man he never had a relationship with Mary Jane and Uncle Ben never died. However, in college he gets a phone call that Aunt May passed when she was a bystander in a fight between Hyperion and a “G-List Villain”.

Peter Parker then dedicates his life to use his natural intelligence to create drones that could take pictures of superheroes for the Daily Bugle. With his photography skills, maybe he could show how reckless these “heroes” are. During a fight between Hyperion and the Annihilation Hive. Hyperion uses his freeze breath to quickly disable them and then flies off to deal with other villains. However, the hive escapes the freeze breath and Peter Parker works hard to evacuate his office. After he saves the day, he becomes infected and begins to turn into a bug creature. He intentionally throws himself out of the building to fall to his death before the hivemind takes over.

DESTINED TO BE A HERO

Peter Parker states in the end that he finally found purpose helping people. Which I found profound in the context of the story. Peter Parker’s life in this version seems to be one of survival and selfishness. He joins the Daily Bugle out of a sense of revenge and is constantly trying to avoid the bully. His journey to being a hero (albeit not superhero) takes longer for this version of him. But eventually he realizes his purpose, moments before his potential death. I wonder if he is going to be saved in the end. He has to be right? Otherwise, what was the point in this comic? But is it going to be by the Squadron Supreme or Blade as he reconnects the Avengers? I’m excited to learn these answers.

BOTTOM LINE: A FUN ONE

This is a solid issue. The Heroes Reborn event has given us to see a different facet of many of our favorite Marvel characters. 3.5 out of 5 for me. It was fun and engaging and I am excited to see what other stories Heroes Reborn will give us.

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